dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaFrom Reversible Quantum Microdynamics to Irreversible Quantum Transport
| Authors | J. Rau, B. Müller |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | nucl-th/9505009 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/nucl-th/9505009 |
| DOI | 10.1016/0370-1573(95)00077-1 |
| Journal | Phys.Rept.272:1-59,1996 |
Abstract
The transition from reversible microdynamics to irreversible transport can be studied very efficiently with the help of the so-called projection method. We give a concise introduction to that method, illustrate its power by using it to analyze the well-known rate and quantum Boltzmann equations, and present, as a new application, the derivation of a source term accounting for the spontaneous creation of electron-positron pairs in strong fields. Thereby we emphasize the fundamental importance of time scales: only if the various time scales exhibited by the dynamics are widely disparate, can the evolution of the slower degrees of freedom be described by a conventional Markovian transport equation; otherwise, one must account for finite memory effects. We show how the projection method can be employed to determine these time scales, and how --if necessary-- it allows one to include memory effects in a straightforward manner. Finally, there is an appendix in which we discuss the concepts of entropy and macroscopic irreversibility.
{
"annotation_id": "07754330-9ffb-4a11-bbc3-3fff02df9ab3",
"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:00:14.691000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:00:14.691000Z",
"file_hash": "2d3a94c9f6bb5fd11ec23e626337ced0caef9e4bf93e89d62869aaae7bd8b971",
"private": false,
"record": {
"abstract": "The transition from reversible microdynamics to irreversible transport can be\nstudied very efficiently with the help of the so-called projection method. We\ngive a concise introduction to that method, illustrate its power by using it to\nanalyze the well-known rate and quantum Boltzmann equations, and present, as a\nnew application, the derivation of a source term accounting for the spontaneous\ncreation of electron-positron pairs in strong fields. Thereby we emphasize the\nfundamental importance of time scales: only if the various time scales\nexhibited by the dynamics are widely disparate, can the evolution of the slower\ndegrees of freedom be described by a conventional Markovian transport equation;\notherwise, one must account for finite memory effects. We show how the\nprojection method can be employed to determine these time scales, and how --if\nnecessary-- it allows one to include memory effects in a straightforward\nmanner. Finally, there is an appendix in which we discuss the concepts of\nentropy and macroscopic irreversibility.",
"arxiv_id": "nucl-th/9505009",
"authors": [
"J. Rau",
"B. M\u00fcller"
],
"categories": [
"nucl-th",
"cond-mat",
"hep-ph",
"hep-th"
],
"doi": "10.1016/0370-1573(95)00077-1",
"journal_ref": "Phys.Rept.272:1-59,1996",
"title": "From Reversible Quantum Microdynamics to Irreversible Quantum Transport",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/nucl-th/9505009"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
"execution_id": "bbe2d1fa-4adb-45de-90b0-e1621beb17ab",
"id": "arXiv Dataset IDs",
"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
"version": "0.1.0"
},
"user_id": 1000002
}